1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a barrette mount of the kind including a main body and a clamping member articulated to the main body at one end. Its other end is adapted to hook onto attachment means provided on the main body, a spring being provided for ejecting the clamping member out of the attachment means.
The present invention is more particularly concerned with attachment means for this type of mount.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The attachment means most widely used for this type of mount comprise two lateral lugs which are bent parts of the main body, for example, having arms with hooks, said arms extending towards each other and partially overlapping. Patent FR-A-1 121 151 describes this type of attachment means.
In one embodiment the hooks are spaced from each other and face each other so as to define between them a hooking space for the longitudinal edges of a retaining lug at the end of the clamping member.
In another embodiment the hooks face in opposite directions and are adapted to cooperate with the edges of a cut-out at the end of the clamping member.
In both cases the clamping member is released by the user squeezing the lateral lugs together between the thumb and the index finger, so bending them towards the main body, the affect of which is either to move the hooks apart or to move them closer together, depending on the embodiment, until the end part of the clamping member is ejected out of the attachment means by the spring.
It has been realized that it would be of practical benefit to be able to open the barrette using operating means situated instead at the rear end of the attachment means.
Various solutions have been put forward, including patent U.S. Pat. No. 3,805,813 which describes a rear operating member constituted by the extension of a leaf spring beyond the area in which it is engaged with the main body. This operating member cooperates with inclined surfaces on the lateral lugs in such a manner as to move apart the hooks of the attachment means and eject the end part of the clamping member when the operating member is depressed towards the main body.
A completely different solution is described in document FR-A-2 527 057 and provides attachment means pivoting on lateral brackets and having a Z-shape profile with an upper part forming a rear operating tongue and an intermediate part with a longitudinal slot cooperating with a curved end part of the leaf spring and with a plane end part of the clamping member. When the operating tongue is depressed the attachment means are pivoted which inclines the slot to enable expulsion of the end part of the clamping member by the leaf spring.
Both these solutions have the disadvantage of requiring costly operations to manufacture and then to assemble a plurality of components and of requiring the use of a leaf spring which is independent of the mount.
Nowadays many barrette mounts are advantageously made in one piece and either by bending operations only or by injection molding.
A general object of the present invention is to improve the opening of attachment means including lateral operating lugs of the type described, for example, in document FR-A-1 121 151, complying with the requirements for cost-effective manufacture mentioned above.